Six wheel truck



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. C. MARIS SIX WHEEL TRUCK Filed July 19, 1958 May 27, 1941.

INVENTQR da Es C. PImels Patented May 27, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFlCEY SIX WHEEL TRUCK James C. Maris, Glenolden, Pa.

Application July 19, 193s, serial No.`22o,120

1 Claim.

This invention relates generally to engine trucks and more particularly to an improved six wheel truck for locomotives.

The trend of locomotive designs has been and is continuing to be toward more ecient and powerful steam locomotives with consequent increase in size and weight. However due to the height and width of the locomotive being definitely limited by existing clearances through tunnels, train platforms, etc., it is seen that any increase in size of the locomotive must be made up by increasing its length. Such increased length introduces very serious problems such as passing around existing track curves as well as slight variations in the level of the track which heretofore have not been of any particular moment with the shorter wheel base types of locomotives.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved six wheel truck so constructed and arranged that it will allow extraordinary lateral movement of the locomotive while still maintaining a high degree of longitudinal and transverse stability, but without sacrificing the necessary exibility of the truck or of the individual truck wheels relative to each other.

A further object is to provide a six wheel engine truck having an improved combination of spring rigging systems and center pin construction with a centering mechanism, all arranged so as to avoid interference between the truck and engine cylinders or other elements of the locomotive, while at the same time accomplishing the longitudinal and transverse stability labove mentioned.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the accompanying drawings in which;

Fig. 1 is a plan View of my improved truck partly broken away to show details of construction and with the bolster and center pin omitted for clarity;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line E-S of Fig. 5.

In the particular embodiment of the invention, such as is disclosed herein merely for the purpose of illustrating certain specilic forms among possible others that the invention might take in practice, I have shown a truck frame preferably of the integrally cast type having hollow side Wheel pieces I and 2 Widely spaced. apart and a forwardly projecting narrow truck extension comprising hollow longitudinal frame members in the form of side rails 3 and 4. The side wheel pieces I and 2 and the rails 3 and 4 are respectively cross connected by hollow transverse frame portions such as end sills 5 and 6. Also, transoms 'I and 8 connect the wheel pieces I land 2, the transom l specifically connecting the ends of the side wheel pieces I and 2 adjacent the narrow frame end of the truck. The hollow longitudinal frame members 3 and 4 project from said transom or transverse member l and are offset inwardly from the side wheel pieces I and 2 which terminate at the transom l. The widely spaced rearward portion of the truck frame has a rear-most wheeled axle I0 and an intermediate wheeled axle 9, each journalled. in outside boxes I I and IZ, Fig. 2. These boxes are guided for usual vertical movement in pedestal ways I3. A spring rigging system for the wheeled axles 9 and I0 comprises sets of longitudinal leaf springs I4 and I5 located respectively within the hollow side wheel pieces on each side of the frame. Inasmuch as the truck is symmetrical about its longitudinal centerline, it will sumce to describe only one side thereof. As shown in Fig. 2 the spring I4 is supported upon journal boxl2 and is connected to the wheel pieces by a spring link I5 connected by a stationary pivot Il to the side wheel pieces. Similarly, the forward end of spring I5 is connected by 'a spring link I8 and a stationary pivot I9 to the side wheel pieces. The adjacent ends of springs I4 and I5 have spring links 20 and 2| pivotally connected to a longitudinal equalizing beam 22 which in turn is transversely pivotally connected at 23 to the side wheel pieces at approximately midway between the wheeled axles 9 and I0. This spring arrangement provides two points 23, 23 of a three point spring suspension system as will appear presently.

The forward truck frame extension 3, 4 has a wheeled axle 26 provided with inside journal boxes 21 vertically guided in usual pedestal ways 28, 28. Longitudinal leaf springs 29, supported on -each of the journal boxes 2l, have their rear ends connected by a spring link 30 to the truck frame through a fixed -pivot 3I. The front ends of springs 29 are connected by relatively short spring links 32 to a cross equalizing beam 33 which has a stationary longitudinal pivot 34 secured to the frame at approximately the longitudinal centerline thereof, this cross equalizing beam 33 being disposed within one of the hollow transverse portions of the truck frame specifically shown herein at the end sill 6. The pivot 34 constitutes the third point of the three point suspension system thereby allowing the truck frame to be bodily flexible in a transverse direction.

From the foregoing spring rigging arrangements, it is seen that while the truck frame is bodily flexible, yet the springs i4, l5 on each side of the truck frame are widely spaced from the longitudinal centerline and hence oier a rela:- tively large resisting moment to vertical movement of the wheels, whereas the springs 29', 29 and their` transverse equalizing beam 33 provide a shorter resisting moment arm from the centerline of the truck. Hence these two diierent moment arms of the two independent systems tend to provide a damping effect against harmonic vibrations which usually arise in spring arrangements. This damping is generally accomplished in. prior art arrangements by employing multiple springs of diierent characteristics, but in my present inventionI have maintained the simplicity of a usual spring rigging system without embodying the complications of the usual dampening springs and at the same time I have provided a truck` which allows excessively long locomotives to have the proper degree of stability together with large lateral movement and necessary ilexibility to accommodate the truck to various levels of the track.

To allow, in combination with my. improved spring rigging, extraordinary lateral movement while still maintainingv maximum stability, I have provided any suitable or usual type of lateral motion bolster 36 supported-between and laterally guided by the transoms 1 and 8Y and have. embodied therein a gear type centering device generally indicated at 31, This device, as is wellknown, has tracks 38 with inclined portions tending to restore the bolster 36 to its centerposition when initially moved therefrom. 'Ihe centering device 3.1 has its lower gear track 38a mounted upon transoms 1. and 8,. while the upper gear track 3319 is secured to the underside of longitudinal wings 36a of the bolster. However, to allow my improved six wheel truckand spring system-,thereof to operate to, its fullest in accomplishing the various functions heretofore pointed out, I haveprovided a center pin 40 disposed within a tapered recess 4.I` in the bolster. The lower end ot the center pin 40 has a curved surface 42 which, is of semi-cylindrical form, that is, the pin 4,6 and bolster 36. can havesubstantial. rocking movement in only one direction relativel to each other, this movement being in a longitudinal plane. The curved surface 42. is sup,-

ported in a similarly curved seat in a plate 43 which, in turn, can revolve about a vertical axis on nat liners 44. To maintain the curved surface 42 in complete seating contact with the curved seat of plate 43, as during rotation of the plate, I have provided a tongue 45 on the plate projecting upwardly into a recess 46. As is seen in Fig. 5, a tongue 45 and recess 46 extend straight across the entire length of the center pin and plate.

From the foregoingy disclosure,` it is seen that my improved truck with its outside journal boxes for the rear axles and its inside journal boxes for the front axle, together with the longitudinal and' transverse equalizing systems independently associated with said inside and outside journalled axles as well as the center pin arrangement restricted only to longitudinal rocking, will allow lateral truck movement combined with a high degree of stability and yet provide for complete accommodation of the trucky to variations in the level of the track without danger oj the spring riggings setting up. harmonic movements. These improved results and mode of operation are applicable to my improved truck regardless of the direction in which it runs. Hence for purposes of. simplicity the axle I0 has been broadly reterred to as the rear axle and the axlel has been referred to as the front axle, although obviously these termsY can be reversed while retaining the identical structure of the truck.

It will of course be understood thatvarious changes in details of construction and arrangement of parts maybe made-by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

A six wheel truck comprising, in combination,

a single rigid frame having sidewheel pieces c onnected at one of their endsj by a, transverse member, longitudinal frame members projecting from said transverse member and oiset inwardly from said side wheel piecesl thereby providing a truck which is relatively wide at4 one end and: relatively narrow at the other end, said` sideY wheel pieces terminating at said transverse member, each ofsaid side wheel pieces havingv two pedestals and said longitudinally extending frame members each having a pedestal, a wheeled axle having, 

